January 2023
Emily
Schuler
,
BSN, RN, CPN
PICU
Children's Hosptial Colorado, Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs
,
CO
United States
We shared pictures and memories with Emily who showed such a loving interest in sharing this with us allowing us to let her know how very special my daughter was.
In February, my two children with my grandma were killed on impact in a horrendous crash. My son and grandma were declared deceased on scene. My daughter’s heart was still beating because she was restrained in her car seat. The first responders immediately had my daughter flown flight for life to Children's Hospital in Colorado Springs. Emily was on duty in the PICU and was the nurse to receive and begin care of my daughter. She was with my daughter through the entire 4 days she was in the PICU. During the 36-hour period of time for my daughter to fail the neurological tests according to protocol Emily was very supportive and answered our many questions with empathy and didn't give us false hope. She also didn't say that there was no hope either. And she made sure that my daughter’s many tubes and monitoring equipment was operating correctly. Answering our questions patiently and calmly. After my daughter failed the final test, they declared her deceased and we were devastated by the finality of her official death declaration. We decided to donate my daughter’s viable organs to help others since that is what my daughter would have wanted. We shared pictures and memories with Emily who showed such a loving interest in sharing this with us allowing us to let her know how very special my daughter was. Emily requested to work on her day off to be with my daughter for the surgery up to the very end. The entire staff was very kind and supportive, but Emily went above and beyond her nursing duties to make us feel that my daughter wasn't just another patient but a little girl who is deeply loved and will be missed by many for years to come.